mary wollstonecraft a vindication of the rights of men

This first-wave feminism is often regarded as ending when white women were granted the right to vote in the Western superpowers (the US and the UK). As a working-class woman of colour myself, I must note that, what was termed equality feminism at the time, is now referred to as white feminism as it largely discriminated against and excluded women of colour, as well as only really including middle-class women. This was the beginning of Western feminism.Īmongst women there was a racial and class hierarchy, with middle-class white women inhabiting the top tiers, mirroring the male system. She believed women were inherently rational just as men were, and fostered discussions about women’s right to vote and their participation in the civic sphere. She asked whether there is truly a difference between men and women, or whether perhaps this difference was constructed by the patriarchy.

She also believed women should stop being viewed as ‘masculine’ for using their voices she believed that women and men were no different aside from what society has imposed on them. She believed women and men were entitled to free and equal education and that perhaps if women are shamed for having sex before marriage, then men should be painted with the same brush. Wollstonecraft simply explained that women had more to them than being child bearers and shiny objects to be paraded around by men. To suggest women were equal to men was close to blasphemy at the time, because how dare a woman ever think she can do what a man does, right? Wollstonecraft not only proved them wrong but laid out the foundations for the feminist movement. There is no doubt that Wollstonecraft lit a fire amongst women at the time.

She planted the seed which eventually led to the Suffrage Movement in the early 20th century.

That is until it was revealed she was a woman Undeterred, Wollstonecraft pushed for equality feminism. The initial response to her critique of Edmund Burke and his views of tradition, customs and social hierarchies was electric. Why would men willingly give women power when they control everything, right? The irony is, when Wollstonecraft initially published ‘A Vindication of the Rights of Men’ in 1790, she did so anonymously. Of course, this was instantly rejected, if not ignored, by the systems of power in Britain at the time. Not only did it attack the existing patriarchy, but it pushed for a more equal society and encouraged the recognition of women as valuable assets, just as much as men were. Her revolutionary book ‘Vindication of the Rights of Women’ altered the future of women in the West. Mary Wollstonecraft is often regarded as the catalyst for Western Feminism, hence her nickname as its ‘mother’.

Mary wollstonecraft a vindication of the rights of men